lobbyist

noun

lob·​by·​ist ˈlä-bē-ist 

plural lobbyists

: one who conducts activities aimed at influencing or swaying public officials and especially members of a legislative body on legislation : a person engaged in lobbying public officials

The new rule says that if you were a registered lobbyist in the past two years, you can't work for the administration on any issue you touched. After you leave government, you can't lobby the administration at all.

—Jacob Weisberg

Because so many lobbyists have past experience on Capitol Hill, they usually have personal ties both to members of congress and to their key staffers, who vet and prioritize the earmark requests.

—Ken Silverstein

Examples of lobbyist in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Even drug-industry lobbyists are reportedly surprised by what Pfizer agreed to. —Nicholas Florko, The Atlantic, 2 Oct. 2025

Alex’s reporting on the lobbyists infiltrating the climate summit ticked off an oil exec whose company takes out a lot of advertising on UBN. —Kimberly Roots, TVLine, 1 Oct. 2025

Johnson helped lead this effort, which involved legislators and lobbyists working in Washington, Florida and El Salvador. —T. Christian Miller, ProPublica, 30 Sep. 2025

Later filings show lobbyists pitching the hotel, marina and housing plan. —Jeff McDonald, San Diego Union-Tribune, 29 Sep. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1842, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for lobbyist

• hobbyist